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EVDOinfo.com has long been your source for tips, tricks, hacks and suggestions for getting the most out of your EVDO service, and each week we will be highlighting a particularly interesting or popular topic in the "Tip of the Week" feature. To suggest future Tips of the Week, contact us at suggestions@evdoinfo.com or post your suggestions in the EVDO Forums.

Setting up the Sprint EVO 4G Mobile Hotspot

With the recent launch of the first 4G phone, the Sprint HTC EVO 4G, there has been a lot of interest in the phone's ability to create a mobile WiFi hotspot that allows up to 8 devices to connect to the phone via WiFi for internet connectivity. While this feature will cost you an extra $30/mo, it's well worth it as it provides UNLIMITED 3G/4G data usage per month - that's right, TRUE unlimited mobile broadband on both Sprint's 3G and 4G networks (for anyone for whom this information is NOT exciting, this is such exciting news because all of the major mobile broadband providers limit their 3G service to 5GB/month with overage charges thereafter. The fact that the EVO provides unlimited 3G and 4G is big news!). This week we're going to show you how to set up & configure the mobile hotspot feature on the EVO 4G! NOTE: as of 10/2/11, the mobile hotspot feature no longer provides unlimited data :(

1. First, you will need to open the "Sprint Hotspot" application

(Note: The Hotspot feature has to be turned off to change any settings)

2. As you can see from the image below, you can configure the SSID (Wireless Network Name), the type of security, and set your password.

Sprint Hotspot Configuration Menu

a) First, change the SSID to something more personal/identifiable - the SSID is the name that the hotspot will identify itself as when you look for available networks from your computer/iPad/iTouch/etc. For example, we changed ours to "3Gstore EVO 4G" so that the hotspot is easy for us to find when we look at the available networks from our computer.

b) For the wireless security, you can choose from the following:

WEP 128-bit: This is the least secure type of wireless security, but is sufficient to keep the average user from joining your network. If you have older computers that are running Windows XP, you should choose this option as many older computers only support WEP security. The WEP password has to be EXACTLY 13 characters long. This password can consist of letters, numbers, or a combination of letters & numbers.

WPA (TKIP): If all of your computers are running Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Mac OS X, then its safe to say that you will be able to use WPA security which is far more secure than WEP security. While WPA2 offers even better security, WPA security will provide better compatibility as some WiFi devices may not be compatible with WPA2 security. WPA passwords have to be ATLEAST 8 characters or more. This password can consist of letters, numbers, or a combination of letters & numbers.

WPA2 (AES): WPA2 provides the strongest WiFi security available on the EVO 4G, but may not be compatible with all of your computers - if you're considering using this option, check to make sure that your computers support WPA2 security first. WPA2 passwords have to be ATLEAST 8 characters or more. This password can consist of letters, numbers, or a combination of letters & numbers.

What if I don't want to use a password? We DO NOT recommend using the EVO as an "open" hotspot. Requiring users to enter a password to connect to your network is always recommended!!!

3. After naming your SSID, choosing your security option, and setting up the network password, you will need to enable the Sprint Mobile Hotspot on the EVO by checking the "Sprint Mobile Hotspot" option as shown below.

4. You should now see a screen indicating that you can now connect to the Sprint Mobile Hotspot via WiFi as shown below. Click OK to dismiss this window, and you can continue using features on your phone while using the hotspot feature. NOTE: If you are in a 3G coverage area, placing or receiving voice calls will pause the hotspot feature but will not disconnect users. If you are in a 4G coverage area you can place & receive calls while using the hotspot feature without any interruption.